A promising allrounder, Jimmy Neesham made his international debut in a Twenty20 international on New Zealand's tour to South Africa in 2012-13, following some impressive performances in the shorter formats in the domestic season.

Neesham began his first-class career with Auckland, but a move Otago worked well for him, as he made some important contributions in the 50-over format in the 2011-12 season, making three 40-plus scores in seven innings, all of them coming at more than a run a ball. He was among the wickets too, taking a career-best 5 for 44 against Wellington and 4 for 23 against Canterbury. The rewards came soon, as he was included in the limited-overs squads for the tour to South Africa.ESPNcricinfo staff